From FarmVille to e-books, Apple's policy on pricing the content it sells—any …

Share this story

Apple views publications the same way it views apps, which is apparently why the company pushed for the agency model when penning deals with publishers to put their e-books on the iBookstore in 2010. The attitude was revealed in a short quote from Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday:

"I don't think you understand. We can't treat newspapers or magazines any differently than we treat FarmVille."

The Journal doesn't give a specific date or context for the quote, but implies that it came out of negotiations with news publishers looking to work with Apple. "Despite my arguments to Mr. Cue in Apple's Cupertino, Calif., offices last year on behalf of news publishers seeking different terms, to him there was no difference between a newspaper and an online game," wrote the publication.

The quote highlights how Apple's negotiation tactics can be seen as a way to simplify the company's approach to content as a whole, though a growing number of users and government bodies now disagree with the motive. In addition to antitrust suits from the US Department of Justice and 16 US states, Apple is also facing an investigation by the European Commission and several consumer-initiated lawsuits in Canada over its alleged collusion to fix e-book prices.

Cue's attitude toward newspapers and magazines may not be surprising to most of us today—over the last two years, Apple has managed to implement a flat policy across most* its content sales that involves the seller setting the price and Apple taking a 30 percent commission. (* It's worth noting that Apple does not approach its music sales this way, instead going with the wholesale model.) The company clearly believes it hasn't done anything wrong by allowing e-book publishers to set their own prices, however, and has said that it's willing to argue its case in court.

Share this story

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui